Jane Edwards
Hologic has received a one-year, $4.1 million contract from the Department of Health and Human Services to further develop a test that works to detect Zika virus in donated blood.
The company’s Procleix Zika Virus Assay is designed to detect for up to seven days the presence of ribonucleic acid linked to the mosquito-borne virus in the blood supply, HHS said Tuesday.
The Procleix Zika Virus Assay received investigational new device designation from the Food and Drug Administration in June and is designed to run on the company’s Panther system that works to automate in-vitro diagnostic tests of some infectious diseases.
Hologic’s contract could be extended for another six months and reach a total value of $6.2 million once HHS decides to support the blood screening test’s clinical trials.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority within the HHS office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response supported the development of Hologic’s assay four months after it helped advance a Roche Molecular Systems-developed blood screening test to clinical trials.
Hologic also secured emergency use authorization from the FDA in June for its Aptima molecular diagnostic assay that works to detect Zika virus infections.
